Rotary engine.



No. 644,085. Patentd Feb. 27, I900.

w. MARSH.

ROTARY ENGINE.

(Application filed Mar. 1, 1899.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 644,085. Patented Feb. 27, I900. w. L. MARSH.

ROTARY ENGINE.

(Applicatibn filed Mar. 1, 1899.) (No MMBL) I 2 Sheets$heet 2.

WILLIS L. MARSH, OF. JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,085, dated February27, 1900.

Application filed March 1, 1899. Serial No. 707,269. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIs L. MARSH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jefferson City, in the county of Cole and State of Missouri,have invented a new and-useful Rotary Engine, of which the following isa specification.

Myinvention relates to rotary engines, and has for one object to providea simple, compact, and efiicient construction and arrangement of partsdesigned to economize in the expenditure of fuel by deriving the maximumpower from that used, the number of parts of the mechanism being reducedto the minimum and the means for controlling the application of pressureto the piston-heads or Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section taken inthe plane indicated by the lihe 4 4 of Figs. 1 and 2 to show the valvemechanism. Fig. 5 is a view of the opposite side of the engine, the samebeing partly in section to show the exhaust-pump.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

In the illustrated embodiment of myinvention the piston core or body 10consists of a thin disk or web mounted between thelaterally-opposingheads or walls of the cylinder and snugly fitting the intervaltherebetween, and piston heads or wings 11 operate in the steam orpiston chamber 12. It will be understood that either a double or asingle cylinder may be employed; but in the drawings I have illustrateda double cylinder, wherein the cylindrical wall 13 is closed by theopposite heads 14, and the parallel annular piston-chambers areseparated by an interposed Fig. 3 is a transverse verticalsection takenin the plane of the piston-shaft.

when the double construction of engine is employed the heads or wingsare arranged alternately, as indicated by the full and dotted lines inFig. 2.

The inlet port 17 communicates with a valve-chamber 1S and is controlledby a cutoff slide-valve 19, and when the double construction of engineis employed this cut-off valve is adapted to cut off communicationbetween the valve-chamber and one of the ports while steam is beingapplied to a piston head or wing through the other port, as indicated inFig. 4. The exhaust-port 20 is located at the lowermost point of thecylinder and communicates with the exhaustconductor 21, through whichexhaust-steam and water of condensation may be withdrawn from thecylinder to prevent interference with the movement of the piston.Preferably in the double construction of engine a single exhaust-port isemployed for both piston-chambers, as shown in Fig. 3.

- The piston-shaft carries a master or driving gear 22, meshingwith apinion 23, of which the spindle 24 carries an eccentric 25. Also mountedin suitable bearings 26 upon the adjacent head of the cylinder is arock-shaft 27, having crank-arms 28 and 29, of which the former isconnected by a rod 30 with a yoke or strap 31 on the eccentric 25, whilethe latter is connected by a pitman 32 with the stem 33 of the cut-offvalve 19. The relative diameters of the gear 22 and pinion 23 are suchthat as the piston rotates it causes a reciprocation of the valve 19through a number of strokes corresponding with the number of pis tonheads or wings. Thus with the double construction of engine, whereinfour piston heads or wings are employed upon each piston, said wings orheads being arranged alternately, the cut-off valve completes fourstrokes, and thus applies steam or other motive agent, such ascompressed air, successively to the piston heads or wings to maintain acontinuous rotation of the shaft 16 at a uniform speed. The engine-shaft16 also carries an eccentric 34, encircled by an cecentric-strap havingan attached eccentricrod 35, connected with a piston-rod 36, saidpiston-rod carrying a piston-head 37, operating in an exhaust-pumpcylinder 38 which is in communication with the eXhaust-conveyer 21. Thusduring the operation of the engine the exhaust is drawn from thecylinder to eifectually remove water of condensation, and, if preferred,such water of condensation while hot may be reconveyed under pressure tothe boiler for subsequentuse. Also in connection with the steam-chamber18 is shown a supply-pipe 39, controlled by a throttle-valve 40,connected with a governor-stem 41, and the governor-spindle receivesrotary motion from the engine-shaft by means of a belt 42. From theabove description it will be seen that the engine embodying my inventionis provided with a wholly-unobstructed pistonchamber, while the pressureapplied to the piston wings or heads is controlled by a cutoff 19,actuated by the piston-shaft, to cause the alternate application ofpressure to the two pistons of a double engine, and that during theoperation of the mechanism the water of condensation is forciblywithdrawn by a pump mechanism to avoid accumulations, this withdrawal ofthe water of condensation being facilitated by the fact that theexhaustport is located at the lowermost point of the cylinder.Furthermore, it will be seen that the cut-oif valve is actuated by meansconsist-in g, essentially, of a rocker interposed between theengine-shaft and the valve-stem and adapted to be oscillated at a speedregulated by the number of piston heads or wings j to which the motiveagent is to be applied. 3 It will be understood, furthermore, that va- Qrious changes in the form, proportion, size, 1

and minor details of construction within the scope of the appendedclaims may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having described my invention, What I claim is- 1: In a rotary engine,the combination of a cylinder having an inlet and an exhaust port, apiston operating within the cylinder and provided with spacedoffstanding Wings, an exhaust-pump connected with the exhaustport of thecylinder, means for actuating the pump directly from the engine-shaft, avalvechamber, a controlling-valve operating in said chamber, arock-shaft having angularly-disposed arms, connecting means between oneof the rocker-arms and the valve-stem, a master-gear mounted upon theengine-shaft, a pinion intermeshing with the master-gear, an eccentricconnected with said pinion, and a yoke mounted upon the said eccentricand connected with the other rocker-arm, substantially as described.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder and a containedpiston havingspaced wings or heads, said cylinder having atangentially-disposed inlet-port, a slide-valve controlling saidinlet-port, a master-gear ac tuated by the piston-shaft, a pinionmeshing with said in astergear, an eccentric carried by the spindle ofthe pinion, a yoke'mounted upon the eccentric, a rocker having one armconnected with the stem of said slide-valve, and a connecting-rodbetween another arm of said rocker and said yoke, substantially asspecified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

\VILLIS L. MARSH,

Witnesses:

O. \VALDECKER, R. P. STONE.

